New branch leader is a Y guy’

Tuesday

Jun 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 25, 2013 at 10:12 AM

Mark Straubel has worked at YMCAs across the country for more than 20 years – from Delaware to New Jersey to Texas and New York. But it’s fitting that he would return to Massachusetts, where the YMCA movement in this country began.

Abby Spegman

Mark Straubel has worked at YMCAs across the country for more than 20 years – from Delaware to New Jersey to Texas and New York. But it’s fitting that he would return to Massachusetts, where the YMCA movement in this country began.

Straubel arrived as executive director of the North Suburban Y three months ago. The Lexington Street facility serves Arlington, Burlington, Lexington, Winchester and Woburn. It is one of 14 branches that make up the YMCA of Greater Boston.

He is familiar with the work - he has been executive director before - and the area, having graduated high school from Lincoln-Sudbury. But Straubel said he is still learning the needs of the communities and looking for ways to help more people.

"It’s looking at a broader impact within the community. How can we expand our capacity to do more and engage more people?" Straubel said in a recent interview in his sunny office overlooking the Y’s playground.

High on Straubel’s to-do list is increasing awareness for all the Y offers. The YMCA of Greater Boston, for instance, is the largest childcare provider in the state, offering before and after school care and summer camps in Y branches, schools and churches.

"We are probably the best kept secret as far as the impact, the positive impact, that we can have on the community. Beyond just a place to work out, beyond a pool or a gym, we really want to strengthen the community in whatever way we can," he said.

The YMCA began in Woburn more than a century ago and opened its current building in the 1970s. It’s most recently renovated in 2006, when the racquetball courts came out and the spin room and rock wall went in.

The branch has room for more. Membership is strong in the Woburn neighborhoods closest to the facility, but it fades on the other side of Main Street. Likewise, it is strong in neighboring Winchester but less so in Burlington and Arlington, Straubel said.

Another one of his focuses is on collaboration, looking for partner agencies that complement the YMCA’s services. For instance, he said, the Y recently started offering a training course on child sexual abuse prevention free to members, which falls under the Y’s mission of social responsibility. It has already trained school employees in Lowell and camp staff in Lexington.

"We don’t necessarily need to be in competition with other agencies. We need to look at where there are opportunities to build or strengthen that community," he said.

Straubel said he is also looking to start wellness programs on chronic disease management and support services for cancer survivors, to partner with senior centers to bring fitness programs there.

These are programs he has seen work at other YMCAs, he added.

"I think what’s so great about Mark is that he comes to use with a plethora of knowledge of how to create a tighter and bigger community," said Cindy Hale, a member of the North Suburban branch’s board of advisors. "There’s no shortage of need. You think ‘In our communities, what’s the need?’ It’s surprising."